Honda recalls 304,035 cars globally for air bag defect

TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co (7267.T) on Friday recalled 304,035 cars worldwide for faulty air bags that could burst due to defective inflators, marking the sixth recall in three years for a problem it said has caused 20 injuries.

Honda said it believed it had now tracked down all the vehicles, numbering nearly 2 million, suspected of containing the air bag defect.

The latest recall affects Accord and Civic sedans, Odyssey minivans and other models built in 2001 and 2002, mostly in the United States where 273,000 cars are targeted. Vehicles are also being recalled in Canada, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and other locations.

A Honda spokesman in Tokyo did not disclose the total global cost to the company, but said the latest recall in Japan of 2,000 cars would cost 14 million yen.

The company said it learned of the latest set of defects after uncovering a handling error by a supplier that allowed faulty inflators to find their way into additional products.